The radical pro-Palestinian Authority Arab “CodePink” organization is pressuring Macy's Department Store to pull Ahava Dead Sea products from the shelves. The organization, which claims that it “does not take a stance on a two-state or a one-state solution” says it “stands in solidarity with nonviolent activists working for peace.”

On March 15, Nancy Kricorian wrote on behalf of CodePink to Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy's to inform him that “Ahava is the subject of an international boycott campaign because of its illegal practices. All Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian territory of the West Bank, including Mitzpe Shalem, where the Ahava factory is located, are illegal under international law...” A second, partner community – Kalia – was also mentioned as an “illegal settlement.”

Even 'worse,' Kircorian wrote, “the Israeli Civil Administration has allowed Ahava to source the mud used in its products from the occupied shores of the Dead Sea in direct contravention of the Geneva Convention's ban on the pillage of occupied natural resources.” On the Internet site where the letter was posted, an "Ahava Boycott Pledge" is also made available in English, Arabic, Czech, Dutch, French, Hebrew and Spanish.

The organization is urging protesters to contact officials of the chain on Friday, March 30 – “Land Day” – the day that Palestinian Authority Arabs bitterly complain over the presence of the State of Israel in the Middle East. CodePink claims “the Israeli occupation and the blockade of Gaza as among the root causes of the conflict, and views the end of the Israeli occupation and a lifting of the blockade of Gaza as key steps towards reaching a just and lasting solution...

“On a recent trip to Gaza, the glimmer of hope we found among people in Gaza was the Obama administration,” the group notes in a statement on its website.

Readers may contact Macy's to counter this vicious campaign with encouragement to continue selling Ahava and SodaStream – another product listed on the boycott – via the following emails: